New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a clarification on its decision to regulate the number of MBBS seats in the country. According to the commission, the move is intended to reduce the regional imbalance in the availability of healthcare professionals.

In a notification, the NMC recently said that medical colleges would be allotted 100 seats for every 10 lakh people in each state. Widespread objections were raised against this move, especially from South Indian states.

The current ratio in Kerala is 130 seats for a population of 10 lakh. The figures are 173 in Karnataka and 156 in Tamil Nadu. In contrast, there are only 21 medical seats for 10 lakh people in Bihar and 41 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

In its explanation, NMC said that it had faced criticism from various courts over the mushrooming of medical colleges. Moreover, the number of medical colleges has to be restricted to ensure the standards of medical education, the commission added.

“The ratio of 100 MBBS seats for 10 lakh people in each state was fixed in order to create a stimulating academic environment and offer proper teaching to medical students. The decision is also aimed at reducing the regional imbalance that exists in the availability of medical professionals,” NMC added.